Equipment (apparatus or devices) for the formation of surfaces, such as ground covering consisting of granular or liquid materials (e.g.: liquid concrete) currently in use in industry and available on the market takes numerous and varied forms. Some equipment has been designed for an application specifically intended for the formation of surfaces, such as leveling. Other equipment commonly used for forming surfaces has not been designed for this application but is nonetheless used for this purpose.
Surface formation includes activities in which granular materials, such as earth, sand, gravel, fine rock, stone dust, mulch, crushed stone, recycled asphalt, liquid concrete and other granular or liquid substrates, such as concrete, laying on the ground, are moved to create a desired surface profile. Surface formation includes the leveling of the ground during which the ground is flattened. Surface formation may also include the movement of the granular material in order to create a slope, an embankment, etc. Surface formation is frequently carried out in the activities of landscaping, public work, agricultural work and industrial work.
Numerous manufacturers of “dozer blades” supply the market with surface formation equipment. Among these, the Caterpillar, Kubota, John Deere, Yanmar, Bobcat and other companies supply the market with substantially straight and flat blades that can be mounted at the front or at the rear of a motorized unit (or motorized vehicle), as described in American patent application No. 2013/0000929 published on Jan. 3, 2013, and in German document No. DE3608893 published on Sep. 24, 1987. However, these blades are designed chiefly for pushing granular material rather than for leveling ground. In certain situations they may have a tendency to tilt forward and thus dig into the ground. There are also leveling platforms or other leveling units that are mounted at the rear of a motorized unit, like the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,618, published on Aug. 26, 1975. However, it is impossible to use these for pushing granular material effectively.
There are also items of apparatus designed specifically for leveling a surface or for moving granular material. However, these are generally less multifunctional and/or have relatively slow speeds of travel.
The surface-formation equipment desired needs to be able to be fitted to mobile units and needs to have at least one of the following properties:
1. Compactness;
2. High efficiency, notably efficiency that remains constant even when used at a relatively high speed of travel;
3. Good handling;
4. Great multifunctionality for the broad range of landscaping work;
5. A small footprint in operation and/or when laid up and/or for transport;
6. A limited number of component parts;
7. A long life without premature wear despite the generally harsh conditions of use (including harsh weather conditions, intense abrasion, impacts, etc.);
8. Ease of assembly of the component parts of the equipment; and
9. A competitive cost price.
In view of the above statements, there is therefore a need for surface-formation equipment capable of overcoming or at least minimizing at least one disadvantage of the prior art.